BillyBreen got me thinking about 80's Movies. Let's chat. What are some of your favorite 80's Movies?
One of my all time favorites is Midnight Madness. Beer-antics, Nerds vs. Jocks vs. Sorority Girls vs. Spoiled Rich Kids vs. Nice Guys, musical hi-jinks, a scavenger hunt and an all-star cast (Michael J. Fox, Paul Ruebens, Stephen Furst, Eddie Deezen) make up this classic cult film. It seemed like every time I stayed home sick as a child this movie was on HBO.
Other favorites include:
War Games
Tron
Better Off Dead
Real Genius
Night of the Comet
Moving Violations
Caddy Shack
Revenge of the Nerds
Sixteen Candles - gotta watch every time it's on.
Time Bandits. Once of my absolute favorite movies EVER!!!
Real Genius and Coming to America are the best movies ever. Not just of the 80s.
10. War Games. Still cool to watch today, even though technology looks as though it is from the dark ages.
9. Real Genius. Val Kilmer's Best.
8. Risky Business. Every boy's fantasy, all right.
7. Footloose. Still enjoy watching this.
6. Ferris Beuller's Day Off. Save Ferris!
5. E.T. Just a great, great movie.
4. Back to the Future. Super fun. Michael J. Fox in his prime.
Footloose
3. Raiders of the Lost Ark. Best action movie ever.
2. 16 Candles - only not #1 because of
1. Breakfast Club - the definition of the 80's.
(honorable mentions would be Better off Dead, The Goonies, The Princess Bride, Pretty in Pink and St. Elmo's Fire)
Thanks to youtube, you cannot mention Caddyshack without mentioning:
Stripes
Blown up, sir!!
I love the whole "Revenge of the Nerds" series, but my favorite 80s movie is hands down, without a doubt, Breakin'. I love when Turbo takes off with the broom.
My Quick Smells Like French Toast.
In no particular order, these are movies that I will watch every time they come on TV. Sci Fi heavy, but I'm a geek.
Blade Runner
Star Wars - Empire Strikes Back
Porky's (still makes me laugh!)
Aliens
The Breakfast Club
Better Off Dead
Beverly Hills Cop
Airplane!
Die Hard
The Terminator
Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Robocop
Star Trek II - The Wrath Of Khan
But, but... how can you mention the original without mentioning the sequel... Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo. While the movie might be pretty atrocious, it has to go down as the best movie title of all time.
Other movies not mentioned, and these are just movies I can recall from growing up through college that I'd watch anytime I flipped on the TV and found them on(and mostly still will watch if they appear randomly on TV, as for instance Howard the Duck did 2 years ago here in Korea):
Say Anything, the best of the 80s teen movies
The Karate Kid
Flash Gordon
This Is Spinal Tap
Akira
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai
Labrynth
The Goonies
The Untouchables
They Live
Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure
The Sure Thing
3 o'clock High
Big Trouble in Little China
Raising Arizona
Can't Buy Me Love
Fletch
UHF
Red Dawn
Highlander
Conan the Barbarian
Youngblood
The Last Starfighter
The Road Warrior
Midnight Run
The Running Man
The Blues Brothers
Strange Brew
The Big Red One
Valley Girl
Heathers
The Manhatten Project
When Harry Met Sally
Streets of Fire
Good grief...there are so many. The Goonies, as we all know, is the absolute pinnacle of cinematic acheivement, so we don't even really need to discuss that. But there is also:
Back to the Future
Ghostbusters
The Princess Bride
Teen Wolf
I don't even know how I could ever stop. But I have a question:
Some people would define the term "80s movie" as something a bit more specific than just "a movie that was made during the 80s." As in, The Breakfast Club is an 80s movie, but, say, Superman III is not (does this make sense?).
So are we going for 80s movies in the sense of 80s aesthetic and philosophy (16 Candles, Can't Buy Me Love, etc.), or just "was released in the 80s," in which case The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi must be included.
Last edited by JBDuke; 08-26-2008 at 10:49 AM. Reason: rampant PWing
I'm happy to see I'm not the only one who included "Better Off Dead". Everytime someone asks me for money, all I can think of is "I WANT MY TWO DOLLARS!"
Good point wilson. I should've clarified. I tend to think most people will think "Brat Pack" and John Hughes when they hear "80's Movies" but in this case I'm going for any movie made in the 80's. Most of the Hughes-like flicks are good, but in the end I think they end up being a trend in the 80's, not defining a whole genre. So please, go ahead and list Empire and Jedi, though I'm not responsible for the ridicule you'll receive for listing Jedi.
If we're going for made in the '80s, then
Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Can't believe I'm the first to mention that one.
Also, like the list Deslok. I'd add another John Cusack movie, Stand By Me. Ok, so it was a cameo, he's still in it. Rob Reiner in the '80s, just brilliant!
(The Sure Thing, Stand By Me, The Princess Bride, A Few Good Men, When Harry Met Sally)